Salford and the Industrial RevolutionSalford, Manchester in the UK, was, at the end of the C19th, a small cotton, calico and silk weaving town with a population of about 7000 people. The Industrial Revolution brought great factories and mills to the town of Salford and not only did it become one of the most important mill towns in the……

Manchester Ship Canal 1894The Manchester Ship Canal was opened in 1894 and was the largest river navigation canal in the world. It took six years to build and cost £15 million. It was 58km long and started at the Mersey estuary in Liverpool and terminated at the dock in Manchester. It allowed the newly created Port of Manchester……

Richard Trevithick and the Rotherhithe Tunnel 1807The Cornish mining engineer, Richard Trevithick, was asked to undertake the incredible engineering feat of digging a tunnel under the River Thames from the Parish of St Mary Rotherhithe to the other side. The growth in docks, wharves, ship builders and a multitude of other manufacturers made it imperative to build some means of crossing……

Ancestors who were London dock workers would have been familiar with St Katherine’s Dock

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Salford and the Industrial Revolution Salford, Manchester in the UK, was, at the end of the C19th, a small cotton, calico and silk weaving town with a population of about 7000 people. The Industrial Revolution brought great factories and mills to the town of Salford and not only did it become one of the most important mill towns in the……

Life on a war ship what was it like/ Have you wondered what it would be like for a member of your family serving in the Royal Navy on active service in a war ship? Find out on HMS Belfast……

Life of a Young Agricultural Labourer in the Early C19th Life as an agricultural labourer in the early C18th could have meant starting work as young as seven years old. In most areas, until about 1800, the majority of land in a village was held in common fields away from the main street of houses. Each strip was divided into furlongs and each furlong into……

The Chinese invented the whippletree, this allowed two oxen to pull a single cart together, this meant double the load, so halving the journey time. This invention probably dates between 190 – 209 AD. Related posts:Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge 1826 Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern…

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Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge 1826 Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern suspension bridge. For some great pictures of the bridge and to read about Robert Stephenson’s rail bridge, follow the link….

Who declared war on Britain in 1812? During the Napoleonic war, Britain was concerned with preventing France from trading with neutral countries, including America. The Navy sought out and intercepted American merchant vessels and sometimes removed the crew and ‘pressed’ them into serving the King’s Navy. Needless to say the Americans were not happy with this turn of events and on 12th……

Remember the smell of carbolic in schools? Joseph Lister discovered that he could reduce infections in hospitals by using carbolic dressings, soaps and sprays. Within years, carbolic soap and powder used in many schools, to try to curb the incidences and deaths from contagious diseases such as diphtheria, measles and scarlet fever which spread through schools at an alarming rate. Schools were……

Thomas Telford’s Menai Straits Bridge opened on 30th January 1826. It was the first modern suspension bridge. For some great pictures of the bridge and to read about Robert Stephenson’s rail bridge, follow the link. Related posts:The new London Bridge opened 1831 The old London bridge was a bridge like no other. It was a…

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The new London Bridge opened 1831 The old London bridge was a bridge like no other. It was a thoroughfare, jammed full of houses and shops and passable only with caution and if you had time to spare. The old bridge was not able to cope with growing demands of an expanding city and so a new bridge was designed by……

Who declared war on Britain in 1812? During the Napoleonic war, Britain was concerned with preventing France from trading with neutral countries, including America. The Navy sought out and intercepted American merchant vessels and sometimes removed the crew and ‘pressed’ them into serving the King’s Navy. Needless to say the Americans were not happy with this turn of events and on 12th……

Militia lists and books or muster rolls, have their origins in Anglo Saxon times, when it became necessary to be able to call on a group of men, who, at a moments notice, could act as a local defence unit. This was particularly important when the ‘army’ was engaged in battle away from home. Recruitment…

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Doppler Effect Discovered 1842 In 1842, Austrian Christian Doppler reveals his discovery that the frequency of waves emitted by a moving source changes when the source moves relative to the observer. This called the Doppler Effect….

Removal Act 1795 The Removal Act 1795, was an amendment to the Settlement Act of 1662 and stated that a ‘non settled’ person could not be removed from a parish unless they applied for relief. This would possibly, have given people greater opportunities for seeking work in other parishes. An examination in the parish archives of settlement and……